The painting Cummings is holding is the Lord’s Supper reimagined as African-American disciples and Jesus.

Bodie Cummings, a Thomson native, has many talents but none more evident than his eye for art.
Cummings began drawing when he was in high school.
“I just picked it up from Mr. Sampson, the football coach, and Ms. Lena Thomas, the health teacher, at Thomson High School,” Cummings said. “I had to draw body parts for health class, and Ms. Thomas saw my art and liked it. Mr. Sampson had me draw the run-ins for football and basketball.”
After high school, Cummings was in the U.S. Army where he was a cook.
“I love art, but to be completely honest, my real passion is cooking,” Cummings said. “I cooked in the military, and I still cook. I consider cooking and art creating your own.”
With art, Cummings works mostly in paint, but he also uses pencils, ink and the occasional charcoal. Cummings said he prefers to paint folk art, but he also paints abstract.
“The way I feel is what I paint,” Cummings said. “When I’m painting, it gives me peace of mind, and I enjoy doing things for other people and the expressions on their faces when they see what I’ve done.”
Cummings added that art, for him, is a way to communicate and bring back memories. He said he has created probably 80 to 100 pieces of art in his lifetime. He created some art on tin for the Thomson-McDuffie County Library, and he said the art led to one of his best showings and best-selling pieces.
FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS, see the full story in the March 30, 2017 issue of The McDuffie Progress. To have The McDuffie Progress delivered to your home or business each week, simply call 706-595-1601 to subscribe. Or, follow the link on our home page to subscribe.